Ohtani or Ruth?

[bk400]

Originally Posted by Seven

I'm going to put this out there, that the comparison between these two is absolutely pointless considering how much the game, and quite frankly, life has changed within the past 100 years.

In Ruth's era players worked second jobs, medicine was basic, there was barely anything resembling modern athletic training, and players traveled on sleeper cars. How the game was played was entirely different, and this is all before we even attempt to open up the can of worms that is the lack of integration of the game back then. We can only compare a player relative to his peers.

What makes Babe most impressive was his sheer domination that literally redefined the game. He hit 600 Homers before anyone hit 300. There were seasons where he literally out homered entire teams. He brought baseball into a completely new era, and single-handedly carried the popularity of the sport on his back.

If you wish to use modern statistics to compare Ruth, to everyone else in the history of the game, his domination still reigns supreme. Ruth is the all-time leader in OPS, OPS+, WAR, and Offensive WAR. He Led the league in OPS in 13 out of 14 seasons from 1918-1931. If we use a stat such as Weighted Runs Created Plus, which is an era adjusted statistic, that neutralizes park values he is the all time leader with a 194 wRC+. The fact that we're still talking about him almost 100 years after his retirement speaks volumes.

Ohtani is the superior athlete. Of course he is, that's common sense. Ohtani lives in 2025 and has access to modern training, facilities, nutrition, and recovery techniques. You cannot compare the two because life itself is so different. This comparison is apples to oranges. We just need to enjoy what we get to watch.

Comparing players across eras is unfair and logically untenable, but nevertheless a fun exercise.

Here's my counterargument:

Ruth was likely a genetic outlier, which allowed him to dominate as a hitter against "common men", as your son put it, for the entirety of his career.

Ohtani is playing in an era where every player is likely not only a genetic outlier in a global (and not just white American) gene pool, but also has access to modern medicine, diet and training. His stats relative to his era won't be as impressive as Ruth's, but that's because Ohtani's era is so much more competitive. It may well be much harder to have an OPS+ of 160 today than it is to have an OPS+ of 200 in Ruth's era because of the high percentage of common men playing major league baseball in Ruth's era versus the percentage of common men playing major league baseball today.

As for impact on the game, it's hard to tell. In Ruth's era, there were far fewer competing forms of professional sports entertainment, and far less access. Yes, Ruth boosted baseball's popularity in America at the time, but is that as impressive as what Ohtani has done for baseball's global popularity? In terms of number of incremental fans as a percentage of the global population, I wouldn't be surprised if Ohtani's impact on the game is bigger -- much bigger -- than Ruth's.